I missed my first opportunity to get this lens off ebay. A random late-night check on ebay showed the lens relisted; apparently the seller had a bad experience with the buyer (0 feedback, probably a scammer). I held my breath (and my wallet) and purchased the lens immediately after seeing it.

Just got it on Friday, and battled sickness to take some surfer shots at Pismo today. 400mm is just barely far enough to let me photograph from the beach, rather than my usual pier spot. Shooting from the beach definitely is different than shooting higher up on the pier, but lens MUCH more dynamic images.

First impression of this lens: it's a bit soft at f/8. I'm probably doing something wrong, so I'll try again tomorrow. Here's a couple from my first endeavour:

Went for a second attempt with the lens today. Lucky for me, there was a surf competition going on, so I had lots of opportunities for shots.

Again, my shots were somewhat soft at various apertures. Perhaps I had SR turned on? The lens has no fungus that i can see, and the blades look oil-free. Think I'll have to try photographing a stationary object next.

jason,
i don't think the lens is soft. the last shot shows that. there's no exif so we don't know the speed you took these at but i'd say the problem is motion blur. are you hand holding?? any thing over 300mm is very hard to use even on a tripod. action with a 400mm is going to be really tough no matter what the technique used.